


Fade Away

by IPutTheSassInAssassin



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Angst, M/M, graphic death, spoilers up to season 6 finale
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-07
Updated: 2016-04-07
Packaged: 2018-05-31 21:19:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,391
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6487741
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IPutTheSassInAssassin/pseuds/IPutTheSassInAssassin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rick swears vengeance on Negan for what he's done.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fade Away

   When the whistling begins, Rick knows he screwed up. Confidence turns to panic as the whistling multiplies, dozens of men concealed in the shadows calling out to each other, signifying their location. The group rushes forward with the last shred of their determination before it's absolutely shattered as they find themselves surrounded by hundreds of men, all carrying some kind of weapon. Some have bats, some have shotguns, some have machetes. Like a cornered animal, Rick knows this is the end.

   Everything they'd fought to avoid was now unfolding before them. Stupidly, they'd believed they could defeat the threat before ever really meeting it face to face. Whatever happened to any of them tonight was on Rick, because he'd made the hasty decision to kill all those saviors and he'd led his people here, right into their trap.

   Next thing he knows, he's on his knees, along with everyone he cares about. Well, almost everyone. Morgan, Carol, Glenn, Rosita, Daryl, Michonne... they're not here. Maybe they're home, maybe they're not, but at least they aren't here, in this lineup, preparing to be executed. Rick can't help but remember being in a similar situation, gagged and lined up at Terminus, and surely by now they're too damned to be spared a second time.

   A van is opened and the saviors drag four more of Rick's closest friends out to join the lineup... Michonne, Rosita, Glenn and Daryl. Michonne catches his eye for a moment, and she's still got that determined look in her eyes; W _e'll get out of here. We'll be okay_.

   Then Rick breaks the eye contact, because he knows damn well that _nothing's_ going to be okay after tonight and he can't bear to look at her, can't let her see how weak, how much of a failure he really is. Instead he looks to Daryl, and the man's shivering, sickeningly pale and covered in fresh blood from what appeared to be a gunshot wound in the shoulder, and Rick is overwhelmed with emotions at the sight of him. Terror. Anger. Guilt. Regret. Seeing his right-hand man, someone who was usually one of the strongest, most determined of the group, now teetering dangerously on the edge between life and death, as weak and helpless as the rest of them... it was a shocking reminder how short and unpredictable life was these days.

   They'd gotten too comfortable in the walls. They'd forgotten just how dangerous the world really was. Now they were going to pay, probably going to die, and it was all Rick's fault.

   Then Daryl met his gaze, and there was no fight left in those eyes, only despondent acceptance... and Rick had completely forgotten how much this man had meant to him. How much Daryl had grounded him, kept him sane, given him hope even in the bleakest times. But now there was not an ounce of strength or hope left in Daryl to give, and that absolutely killed Rick inside.

   Rick can't pinpoint an exact moment when it had gone wrong, when he and Daryl had started to drift. Probably back when they first arrived in Alexandria. Daryl had had his doubts about the place, had voiced them more than enough times, but Rick had trusted Alexandria even in the beginning. Tired of running, tired of being disappointed, tired of being in constant danger. He'd wanted nothing more than to give the place a chance. Wanted it to be a safe haven for his family, his kids.

   Even when Daryl began to finally adjust to the place, something had changed between them, and they'd just drifted. They still went out on the occasional supply run together but the vibe was never the same. Maybe it was because of Rick's growing crush on Jessie, maybe Daryl had sensed that coming even before Rick had, pushing him away before Rick could leave him and hurt him.

   Letting that happen had been such a huge mistake. Letting Daryl shut him out, become a stranger to him again... that was a mistake.

   Rick had truly believed he loved Jessie and even Michonne... and he did, but neither of them compared to the love he'd felt for Daryl. How could he be so stupid for not seeing that earlier?

 _Once we get out of this, I'm going to fix everything. Things will change, we'll be_ better _than before, I promise..._ Rick hoped he could convey this, everything he was feeling, through their connected gaze, determined that when this was over, he'd properly show Daryl how truly sorry he was.

   Then Daryl broke the eye contact, settling his gaze back on the ground instead. He'd never looked so crushed in the entire time Rick had known him.

   Rick was only half-listening to what Negan was saying. A part of him thought Negan wouldn't actually go through with killing anyone. It couldn't be true, this had to be a dream. _Somebody_ would step in, put a stop to this, but at the same time, Rick knew they wouldn't. They couldn't be lucky forever.

   “I simply cannot decide.” Negan pinched the bridge of his nose, pausing before turning back around, smug grin plastered on his face, like this was all some sick joke to him, “I got an idea.”

   Negan started, pointing the bat at Rick first, “Eeny. Meeny. Miny. Moe.”

   Rick shuddered as Negan pointed between each of his friends with the bat. Every second was agonizing, the anxiety in each of them overwhelming. Daryl never lifted his gaze from the ground except to glare at Negan as he passed. Same with Michonne, Abraham and Carl, all silent, determined to stay strong. Glenn, Maggie, and Eugene were crying, but nobody could blame them. Couldn't comfort them either, as much as they wanted to. Couldn't tell them it'd be okay, because they all knew it wouldn't.

   “Catch... a tiger... by... his toe. If he hollers... let him go.”

   A thousand thoughts were running through Rick's head, things he could say, things he could do to try and stop all of this, but then he'd remember Negan's threat. Rick was terrified, and the last thing he wanted to do was put everyone in even _more_ danger than they were already, but at the same time he had to _do something_ because now the bat was in Carl's face...

   “My mother told me...” Then Negan moved on to Eugene and Rick couldn't help but feel at least a tiny bit relieved that Carl had been spared.

   “To pick... the very best one... and... you... are... it.”

   Rick's throat tightened, like there were invisible hands around his neck, cutting off his air. Negan had stopped in front of Daryl, who didn't even argue, didn't move, didn't beg, didn't say a word, didn't even look around as Negan began, “Anybody moans, anybody says anything, cut the boy's eye out and feed it to his father... _then_ we'll start. You can breathe. You can blink. You can cry. Hell, you're _all_ going to be doing that.”

 _Damnit, do something!_ Rick's mind was screaming, but he couldn't, he was paralyzed with his fear, and he couldn't let them hurt Carl... he opened his mouth, to beg, to volunteer himself in Daryl's place but the bat was already coming down and-

   “ _Oh_! Look at _that_!”

  Rick's stomach churned as everyone around him began to scream. Daryl's face was half bashed-in, hair covered in crimson gore, even a bit of brain matter visible. Daryl's body trembled as he fought to sit upright, to hold on and not give in to the pain.

   “Taking it like a champ!”, Negan grinned, as everyone continued to cry out, shouting Daryl's name, and Rick swore to himself he'd personally gut the bastard for this...

   Daryl looked up slowly, and with his one remaining eye full of terror, shock and agony, locked with Rick's gaze as he pleaded, “Rick...”

   Rick's eyes stung with tears as he opened his mouth to call out to him but it was too late. The bat came down, again and again, blood and gore splattering everywhere, onto the ground, onto Negan's jacket. Daryl's headless body spasmed a minute more before finally going limp.

   And then it was over. It was all over and Rick had never felt so helpless or hollow in his entire life as he let out a breathless, “ _Daryl_...”

 

 


End file.
